资源简介

教学设计
课程基本信息
学科 英语 年级 八年级 学期 秋季
课题 Unit 4 Amazing Plants and Animals-Section A（2a-2e）
教学目标
Students can master the key vocabulary: amazing, creature, survive, adapt, environment, rare, species, feature, habitat, depend on, in danger, etc. Students can understand and use the key sentence structures: "What makes this plant/animal amazing " "It can... to survive in..." "This species is in danger because of..." Students can comprehend the main ideas and key details of the listening materials (2a, 2b) and the reading passage (2c-2e), including the amazing features of certain plants and animals and the threats they face.
重难点
Mastery of key vocabulary and sentence structures related to amazing plants and animals. Development of listening ability to catch specific information and reading ability to use skimming and scanning strategies. Ability to describe the features of plants and animals in simple English.
教学过程
教学环节 学习活动（包含设计意图）
Step 1: Warming-up & Lead-in (5 minutes) Video Appreciation: Play a 2-minute short video about amazing plants and animals (e.g., the Venus flytrap that catches insects, the camel that can live without water for a long time, the giant sequoia that lives for thousands of years). The video is with vivid pictures but no narration. Question Discussion: After playing the video, the teacher asks two questions: "What did you see in the video " "Which plant or animal impresses you most Why " Vocabulary Introduction: According to students' answers, the teacher presents the key vocabulary (e.g., amazing, creature, survive) on the PPT with pictures and English explanations, and guides students to read them aloud twice. Design Intent The short video with vivid visual effects can quickly attract students' attention and arouse their interest in the topic of "amazing plants and animals". The follow-up questions can activate students' prior knowledge and let them express their initial feelings, laying a foundation for the subsequent learning. Introducing key vocabulary in the context of students' answers can help them understand and remember the words more easily than rote memorization.
Step 2: Presentation of Grammar Rules (10 minutes) Pre-listening (2 minutes) Task Introduction: The teacher tells students that they will listen to a conversation between two students talking about amazing plants and animals. Then, show the tasks of 2a and 2b on the PPT. Prediction: For 2a (matching the pictures with the names), the teacher shows the three pictures (Venus flytrap, cactus, penguin) and their names, and asks students to predict which one the speakers will talk about. For 2b (filling in the blanks with key words), the teacher guides students to look at the blanks and predict the possible parts of speech (nouns, verbs) of the missing words. While-listening (5 minutes) First Listening: Play the listening material once. Ask students to finish 2a (matching the pictures with the names they hear). After listening, check the answers with the whole class. A student is invited to say the answer, and the teacher confirms it and shows the correct matching on the PPT. Second Listening: Play the listening material again. Ask students to finish 2b (filling in the blanks with the information they hear, e.g., "The Venus flytrap can ______ small insects. / The cactus can survive without ______ for a long time."). During listening, the teacher reminds students to catch the key words. After listening, let students exchange their answers with their deskmates first, then check the answers publicly. For the words that students may miss (e.g., catch, water), the teacher plays the relevant part of the listening material again to help them understand. Post-listening (3 minutes) Dialogue Imitation: The teacher plays the listening material sentence by sentence, and students imitate the pronunciation and intonation. Pair Work: Ask students to make a short dialogue with their deskmates using the information from 2a and 2b. The model dialogue is: Student A: "Which amazing plant/animal do you know " Student B: "I know the Venus flytrap." Student A: "What makes it amazing " Student B: "It can catch small insects to survive." Let two pairs of students show their dialogues in front of the class. Design Intent The pre-listening prediction activity can help students set listening goals and improve their listening efficiency. Listening twice with different tasks (first for general information, second for specific details) conforms to the law of listening comprehension and can gradually improve students' ability to catch information. The post-listening imitation and pair work can not only consolidate the listening content but also practice the key sentence structures, laying a foundation for the speaking and reading activities later.
Step 3: Practice (15 minutes) Pre-reading (3 minutes) Topic Lead-in: The teacher says, "We have learned about some amazing plants and animals from the listening. Now, let's read a passage about another amazing creature—the giant panda. Do you know anything about giant pandas " Invite 2-3 students to share their knowledge. Vocabulary Preview: Present the new vocabulary in the reading passage (e.g., rare, species, habitat, bamboo, in danger) on the PPT with pictures and example sentences (e.g., "Giant pandas are rare animals. / Their habitat is in the mountains of Sichuan."), and guide students to read and understand them. Reading Task Introduction: Tell students that they will read the passage and finish three tasks: 2c (answering wh-questions), 2d (filling in the blanks with the words from the passage), and 2e (discussing the questions). While-reading (10 minutes) Skimming for Main Idea (2 minutes): Ask students to read the passage quickly (within 1 minute) and answer the question: "What is the passage mainly about " After reading, invite a student to answer. The teacher summarizes: "It's mainly about the amazing features of giant pandas and the threats they face." Scanning for Specific Details (5 minutes): Ask students to read the passage again carefully and finish 2c and 2d. For 2c: The questions are: "Where do giant pandas live / What do giant pandas eat / Why are giant pandas in danger " Guide students to find the answers in the passage and underline the key sentences. For 2d: The blanks are: "Giant pandas are one of the most ______ species in the world. Their main food is ______. Because of the loss of ______, many giant pandas have no place to live." Remind students to find the exact words from the passage. After students finish, let them discuss with their group members (4 students in a group) to check the answers. Then, the teacher checks the answers with the whole class and explains the difficult sentences (e.g., "Giant pandas have a special thumb that helps them hold bamboo.") if necessary. Deep Reading for Understanding (3 minutes): Ask students to read the passage a third time and think about the question: "What can we do to help giant pandas " Let them take notes of their ideas. Post-reading (5 minutes) Task Check & Explanation: The teacher checks the answers to 2c and 2d, and explains the key points (e.g., the usage of "because of" and "because": "because of + noun/phrase", "because + clause"). Group Discussion (2e): Divide students into groups of 4. Ask them to discuss the questions in 2e: "Do you think giant pandas are amazing Why / What other rare animals do you know / What can we do to protect rare animals " Each group chooses a recorder to write down the key points of the discussion. Group Presentation: Invite 2-3 groups to share their discussion results. The teacher gives positive comments (e.g., "Your ideas are very good! / You speak English very fluently!") and supplements if necessary (e.g., "We can also donate money to animal protection organizations."). Design Intent The pre-reading lead-in and vocabulary preview can reduce students' difficulties in reading. Skimming and scanning are important reading strategies for middle school students. By setting different reading tasks, students can master these strategies in practice and improve their reading efficiency. The group discussion in post-reading can not only deepen students' understanding of the passage but also practice their speaking ability and cooperation ability, and at the same time, cultivate their awareness of protecting rare animals, achieving the affective objective.
Step 4: Consolidation & Application (10 minutes) Vocabulary Game: "Quick Response". The teacher shows the vocabulary flashcards (with pictures on one side and words on the other). Hold up the picture side, and students say the corresponding word quickly. Hold up the word side, and students give the English explanation or make a sentence. The fastest student gets a small sticker as a reward. Role-play: Show pictures of three different amazing creatures (e.g., koala, desert rose, dolphin) on the PPT, with brief tips (e.g., Koala: lives in Australia, eats eucalyptus leaves, sleeps 18 hours a day). Divide students into pairs. One student acts as a reporter, and the other acts as an expert on animals/plants. The reporter asks questions using the key sentence structures, and the expert answers based on the tips. The model is: Reporter: "Good morning, Mr./Ms. Expert. Could you tell me something about the koala " Expert: "Sure. It's an amazing animal that lives in Australia." Reporter: "What does it eat " Expert: "It mainly eats eucalyptus leaves." Reporter: "Is it in danger " Expert: "Yes, because its habitat is being destroyed." Let 2-3 pairs perform their role-plays. Fill in the Blanks: Distribute exercise sheets with 5 sentences. Students fill in the blanks with the correct form of the key words. For example: Many ______ (species) are in danger because of human activities. The camel can ______ (survive) in the desert without water for a month. This plant has a special ______ (feature) to attract insects. Design Intent The vocabulary game can make the review of vocabulary more interesting and help students consolidate the key words in a relaxed atmosphere. The role-play activity can let students use the key vocabulary and sentence structures flexibly in a real communication context, improving their speaking ability. The fill-in-the-blank exercise can consolidate students' mastery of the words and their grammatical usage.
Summary & Homework (5 minutes) Summary (2 minutes) The teacher leads students to summarize the content of the class: Key vocabulary: amazing, creature, rare, species, survive, habitat, etc. Key sentence structures: "What makes it amazing / It can... to survive. / It is in danger because of..." Skills: We learned to catch specific information in listening and use skimming and scanning in reading. Attitude: We should protect rare plants and animals and love nature. Homework (2 minutes) Basic Homework: Copy the key vocabulary 3 times and make one sentence for each. Finish the remaining exercises on the exercise sheet. Oral Homework: Talk with your family about one amazing plant or animal you learned today, using the sentences we practiced. Exploratory Homework: Search for information about one rare plant or animal (in English or Chinese) and prepare a 1-minute report for the next class. Design Intent The summary can help students sort out the knowledge and skills learned in the class and deepen their understanding. The three types of homework are designed with different levels: basic homework consolidates the knowledge; oral homework practices speaking ability in real life; exploratory homework cultivates students' ability to collect information and expands their knowledge, laying a foundation for the next class.

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